Rules

This morning, we saw a cyclist couple, fully lycra'd up, probably in their thirties, jump the lights at the junction of the B.2200 and London Road, for no particular reason, as they headed south into Ewell Village.

Then this afternoon, I was cycling down West Hill into Epsom to find that the bridge under the railway was occupied by a very large puddle, probably the result of a break or burst in a water supply pipe. So I dismounted and walked my cycle to entrance the pedestrian tunnel to the side of the road. At which point, another cyclist couple, again fully lycra'd up and again probably in their thirties, cycle through in the opposite direction without bothering to dismount, as asked by the signs at both ends of the tunnel. Plus there were some pedestrians. I suggested, fairly mildly, that maybe they should have dismounted, to which the lady of the pair, suggested that I could have kept my mouth shut. The gent was in front and I did not hear what he had to say, if anything - and I was not quick enough to come back to her with the suggestion that she could have got her butt off her saddle. Probably not a good idea anyway.

A bit later on, as I was waiting to turn right into the B.284 from Ruxley Lane, an older gent, again all kitted up, got tired of waiting and pedalled across the lights without waiting for them to go green, which they did, perhaps 10-15 seconds after he set off.

Not a big deal, but quite apart from feeling let down by fellow cyclists, I feel quite strongly that, given what is going on just presently, people should make a parade of being rather pedantic about rules. Visibly stick to them, even if they seem a bit silly. That way we might get through without too much unnecessary damage.

PS: the good news is that the giant weed noticed for the first time at reference 1 is still there. No-one has found it necessary or amusing to chop it down.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/06/giant-weed.html.